Wood stock crack - repair or call it good?

[45flint]

On my 120 year old FLZ rifle there is a crack in the stock. The stock is still rock solid and I can’t move the crack closer at all with hand pressure. Given it doesn’t affect the shooting of the rifle my tendency is to leave it alone. I’m not going to shoot the rifle that much. Not sure that I could even close it given the drying of the wood for all those years? I could try also to fill it to make it less noticeable? I’m sure some of you have had similar issues with old BSA’s etc. To me its more about looks than structure. Any thoughts?

[Bedazzled]

Might be worth trying to blast some wood glue into the split if you have a compressor might help stabilise the wood from further damage

[Faerie]

A clear epoxy would fill the crack & hide it fairly well, but given the width of it & the chequering it's more like work for a jeweller than a carpenter.
Anyway, by now the wood will be very stable so it shouldn't get worse even if you do nothing.

[45flint]

A clear epoxy would fill the crack & hide it fairly well, but given the width of it & the chequering it's more like work for a jeweller than a carpenter.
Anyway, by now the wood will be very stable so it shouldn't get worse even if you do nothing.

I am leaning to what you are saying. Its a cosmetic issue and filling the crack would be work of a jeweler, the type of work I am fairly good at. But is the crack part of the story of a old gun and now worth covering up? The worse thing that would happen is that I make it more noticable by my work.

[Dutch]

My method is: remove the stock and repair with a bit of clear low viscosity super glue /epoxy resin. then clamp it (if possible, otherwise don't). Carefully wipe glue with wet cloth. You could also in advance moisten or grease the outside of the stock meticulously to lower risk of the epoxy sticking to it. Inside might tighten a bit (because of the clamping), so light sanding might be needed. tried using wooddust mixed with the resin to match the colour of the wood, but it made the crack darker. A good matching hobby paint (use right paint) job used on car, train plane models etc., does provide far better results.

[trajectory]

How sure are you the crack is not creeping? Has it been the same since your ownership, & if so how long has that been? Will the rifle be kept in a fairly even environment regarding temperature & humidity as tha might effect the possible propagation of the crack.

In my opinion with the chequering present only closing the crack up will give a continuation of line like the original appearance, & if it doesn't want to close then forcing it might just set up stresses for it to split somewhere else. Filling might disguise it a bit, epoxy has been suggested & that's not a bad idea as it shouldn't shrink that much when it cres & so might not induce too much stress in the repair. Slipping a bit of colour matched veneer into the split without forcing it open might be worth considering. When cured it could be finished off as best you can to match the surrounding wood & pattern. Good surface prep is essential if you are going to get a good bond. Not easy to do on a narrow split, as there could be years of dust, debris & oil in there that would need to be cleaned out.
Some furniture restorers use hard colour matched wax to fill splits & imperfections, that might be an idea but if the crack starts to open in the future then it will hinder the surface prep. to get a good bond if you decide to glue it at a later date.
Not an easy choice, if it doesn't move, or pinch your hand when you fire it then if it were mine I think I might be tempted to leave it alone at the moment.

Maybe the other consideration is how easy is it to remove the stock from this? Sometimes the bolts are well & truly 'frozen' in place & you might risk damaging something if its on there good & solid.

[45flint]

How sure are you the crack is not creeping? Has it been the same since your ownership, & if so how long has that been? Will the rifle be kept in a fairly even environment regarding temperature & humidity as tha might effect the possible propagation of the crack.

In my opinion with the chequering present only closing the crack up will give a continuation of line like the original appearance, & if it doesn't want to close then forcing it might just set up stresses for it to split somewhere else. Filling might disguise it a bit, epoxy has been suggested & that's not a bad idea as it shouldn't shrink that much when it cres & so might not induce too much stress in the repair. Slipping a bit of colour matched veneer into the split without forcing it open might be worth considering. When cured it could be finished off as best you can to match the surrounding wood & pattern. Good surface prep is essential if you are going to get a good bond. Not easy to do on a narrow split, as there could be years of dust, debris & oil in there that would need to be cleaned out.
Some furniture restorers use hard colour matched wax to fill splits & imperfections, that might be an idea but if the crack starts to open in the future then it will hinder the surface prep. to get a good bond if you decide to glue it at a later date.
Not an easy choice, if it doesn't move, or pinch your hand when you fire it then if it were mine I think I might be tempted to leave it alone at the moment.

Maybe the other consideration is how easy is it to remove the stock from this? Sometimes the bolts are well & truly 'frozen' in place & you might risk damaging something if its on there good & solid.

I have had the rifle one week so have no idea of the movement of the crack. I think your council is very good. I think I need to leave it alone for a while and see if anything changes. I totally agree given this old wood trying to force the crack closed (and that’s what it would take) could cause other stresses. And agree given its rock solid now, taking the stock off could cause other issues given its been together for over 100 years. If it turns out to be stable which I am about sure it will then wax is the best fix I think. Thanks for your thoughts.

Also thanks for your thoughts on taping 22 darts to fit! Too easy a solution to unobtainable 25 cal darts!

[Garvin]

I have had the rifle one week so have no idea of the movement of the crack. I think your council is very good. I think I need to leave it alone for a while and see if anything changes. I totally agree given this old wood trying to force the crack closed (and that’s what it would take) could cause other stresses. And agree given its rock solid now, taking the stock off could cause other issues given its been together for over 100 years. If it turns out to be stable which I am about sure it will then wax is the best fix I think. Thanks for your thoughts.

Also thanks for your thoughts on taping 22 darts to fit! Too easy a solution to unobtainable 25 cal darts!

My thought FWIW, why not pour some walnut oil in the crack? Sealing it up with beeswax also sounds good to me.

[trajectory]

I have had the rifle one week so have no idea of the movement of the crack. I think your council is very good. I think I need to leave it alone for a while and see if anything changes. I totally agree given this old wood trying to force the crack closed (and that’s what it would take) could cause other stresses. And agree given its rock solid now, taking the stock off could cause other issues given its been together for over 100 years. If it turns out to be stable which I am about sure it will then wax is the best fix I think. Thanks for your thoughts.

Also thanks for your thoughts on taping 22 darts to fit! Too easy a solution to unobtainable 25 cal darts!

Hi, thank you for your comments regarding my thoughts about the split, but I can't take any credit for advice on the darts, that was another person.

[Phil Russell]

I appreciate the wisdom of the various posters here but if it was mine ... and I have done a few similar in appearance ... I would:
Remove the stock and assess if the crack is visible on the inside. If so then look to see if it can be closed under light clamping pressure' taking care not to clamp too vigorously so as not to bruise the wood. It is quite possible the crack / split has been caused by over vigorous tightening of the stock retaining bolt and/or trying to use the stock as a lever to undo the end block. (This is always a bad idea).
Assuming it is a split right to the inside I would try and fill the void with a good wood glue, pushing the glue into the crack as much as possible. Then clamp the sides of the crack together ... excess glue should come out as the crack is closed and can be wiped away with a moist cloth. Leave until glue is set and all should be well although you may need to do a bit of refinishing to hide any hairline that is evident.
When refitting the stock, go carefully and do not overtighten but you should be OK.
Cheers, Phil

[trajectory]

I think Phil has offered up some good advice should you decide to try & make a repair & find that the split can be closed up without excessive force. Everyone has to start somewhere & if it's your first attempt at a repair it can seem a bit daunting & you might have the worry of things not turning out how you hope.
I've had to repair splits in things once in a while, squared edged things can take clamps well & faces can be protected with scrap wood but for awkward, rounded shapes I tend to avoid clamps like f or g types & instead use a tourniquet or series of tourniquets made out of strong webbing. They are forgiving in as much as they are kinder to the surface of the wood & they don't slip if you do it properly. However you can glue them to the surface if you are not careful, so cling film between the wood & the tourniquet. Use glue/ adhesive sparingly, enough to do the job, but as little as possible to avoid unnecessary cleaning.

It's doable if the split closes up but if it doesn't then your not much further forward. Maybe leave it for a bit & have a think, maybe even induce a split in an old tool handle, like a chisel or hammer etc & try repairing it to have a practice. Might be worth a practice to see how that goes, gives you a dress rehearsal for the main event should you decide to go down that route soon or even later if you are happy to leave it for a while. It's over 100 years old so maybe there's no need to rush anything if it's not getting worse.

[45flint]

Appreciate all the council, think I’ll sit on it for a while. Given all the crude on the rifle I think it’s been there for a while? Sooner or later I’m sure I do one of the above.

[4end]

Having repaired many stocks over the years I would be inclined to take the following steps.
Apply pressure to the hand of the stock to see if the crack closes. If it closes then the crack goes right through the wood and could extend further over time. Having established whether the split is a crack or a shake the action is similar, scrape out and clean any dirt or debris from within the crack with a very thin piece of steel cut from something the thickness of a tin can and apply pressure to see if the split closes, if it does then using a feather to dampen with water the inner surfaces of the split before forcing Gorilla glue, brown variety into the split. If the split closed up under pressure then apply pressure to close it up as far as it will go. If the split did not close then it is a shake so leave it with the split full of glue. Leave any clamp on for at least a day
Dampening the split surfaces acts as a catalyst to activate the glue which will now foam up and fill any void left. The fine foam can be left to harden until it is hard enough be struck off with a craft blade. As the glue/foam dries a similar colour to the wood there should be no further finishing required. As for Gorilla glue, I have used it on countless repairs and never had one brought back to me as a failure.

[Lawrie Amatruda]

One method I use is if the crack can be closed, I use elasticated webbing (or a few large elastic bands) wrapped around the area with cling film between the webbing and wood then drill a hole from the front of the stock along the split as far as needed usually about 3/8" diameter, I then release the webbing or elastic bands, put glue into the crack and length of the drilled hole, then replace the strapping to pull the crack together, then insert a length of 3/8" wood dowling into the previously drilled hole. If there is oil in the crack this method will give a better bond because you create a new clean surface where the hole is drilled and dowelled, I hope this makes sense.

Cheers, Lawrie.

[draitzer]

For what it may be worth, I've found an excellent way to clamp irregular shapes like stocks is to wrap with a nylon stocking stretched as tightly as possible and a tourniquet twist to finish off. Still using my ex-wife's torn pantyhose from decades past.

Don R.